Identification and Characterization of Fungal Pathogens Causing Fruit Rot of Deciduous Holly.

Cut branches of deciduous holly (Ilex spp. L.) harboring colorful berries are traditionally used as ornaments in holiday decorations. Since 2012, a fruit rot of unspecified cause has resulted in significant yield reduction and economic losses across Midwestern and Eastern U.S. nurseries. In this study, symptomatic fruit samples collected from nine different locations over five years were analyzed, and several fungal species were isolated. A combination of morphological characterization, multilocus phylogenetic analyses, and pathogenicity assays revealed that Alternaria alternata and Diaporthe ilicicola sp. nov. were the primary pathogens associated with symptomatic fruit. Other fungi including A. arborescens, Colletotrichum fioriniae, C. nymphaeae, Epicoccum nigrum, and species in the D. eres species complex appeared to be minor pathogens in this disease complex. In detached fruit pathogenicity assays testing the role of wounding and inoculum concentration on disease development, disease incidence and severity increased when fruit was wounded and inoculated with a higher inoculum concentration. These findings indicate that management strategies that can protect fruit from injury or reduce inoculum may lower disease levels in the field. This research established the basis for further studies on this emerging disease and the design of research-based management strategies. To our knowledge, it also represents the first report of species of Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Diaporthe, and Epicoccum causing fruit rot of deciduous holly.

Formulation and food effects on the oral absorption of a poorly water soluble, highly permeable antiretroviral agent.

DPC 961 is a low-solubility, high-permeability, second-generation non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. The purpose of these studies was to evaluate the effects of drug substance and formulation variables on DPC 961 oral absorption, and to compare fed and fasted state oral absorption. To accomplish this, groups of four to six dogs were dosed with various formulations of DPC 961 under fasted or fed conditions, and DPC 961 pharmacokinetics were examined. Absolute oral bioavailability, based on i.v. AUC in the same dogs, was 24% after a suspension dose in fasted dogs and was 51% in fed dogs. Bioavailability with an unoptimized tablet formulation was 30% in fasted dogs and 86% in fed dogs. DPC 961 oral absorption was shown to be dependent on drug substance particle size in fasted dogs, after dosing with a tablet formulation where only the drug substance particle size was varied, but there was no difference in fed dogs. AUC and C(max) increased in proportion with increases in tablet strength from 100 to 400 mg, using tablets manufactured from a common granulation. Tablets made with 50 and 66% drug loadings showed similar relative oral bioavailabilities. Tablets prepared with two different polymorphic forms of DPC 961 were also compared, and these were found to be equivalent. These studies provided a useful component of the formulation development process, to help identify and control the variables affecting oral absorption of this potential new therapeutic agent.